John Philip Sousa was an American composer and bandleader who lived from 1854 to 1932. He wrote more than 130 marches, and people called him the March King. He led the United States Marine Band and then toured the world with a band of his own. The best first piece for a child is “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” the most famous march in America.
Quick facts
- Born: 1854, in Washington, D.C.
- Died: 1932, in Reading, Pennsylvania
- Era: Romantic
- Played: violin, and several band instruments
- Known for: “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” “Semper Fidelis,” “The Washington Post,” and “The Liberty Bell”
The life in short
Sousa’s father played the trombone in the United States Marine Band. The family lived near the Marine barracks in Washington, and John grew up to the sound of bands. He started music lessons at six and learned the violin and a handful of band instruments.
At 13, he planned to run away and join a circus band. For the best-known circus march, read Entry of the Gladiators. His father found out. The next morning, he walked John to the Marine barracks and signed him up as an apprentice musician. John stayed with the band for seven years.
He left to play the violin and conduct in theater orchestras. In 1880, the Marine Band called him back as its leader. He was 25. He led it for 12 years, under five presidents, and made it the best band in the country.
In 1892, he started his own band. The Sousa Band toured for almost 40 years. It crossed the United States again and again, sailed to Europe, and made a trip around the world.
During the First World War, at 62, he joined the Navy to train its bands.
He died in 1932, the day after he conducted a band rehearsal. The last piece he led was “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
What the music sounds like
A march is music for walking in step. It has a strong, steady beat: left, right, left, right.
A Sousa march has a plan. It opens with a short call to attention. Two bold tunes follow, each played twice. Then comes the trio, a softer, smoother tune in a new key. The march ends with the trio tune played at full strength by the whole band.
His tunes are easy to whistle, and his rhythms make feet want to move.
Pieces to play first
“The Stars and Stripes Forever.” He wrote it in 1896, on a ship coming home from Europe. In the last section, the piccolos play a high, twirling tune over the band. It is the official national march of the United States.
“The Liberty Bell.” A cheerful march with a real bell in it. Many people know it as the theme of a British comedy show on television.
“The Washington Post.” Written for a newspaper’s essay contest in 1889. People danced a new dance, the two-step, to it across America and Europe.
“Semper Fidelis.” The march of the United States Marine Corps. The title is the Marines’ motto, which means “always faithful.” Listen for the drums and bugles in the middle.
The sousaphone
A tuba is hard to carry in a parade. Sousa wanted a bass instrument that a player could wear, with a bell that sent the sound up and over the band. An instrument maker built one to his idea in the 1890s. It wraps around the body and rests on the shoulder. It is called the sousaphone, and marching bands use it today. Read the tuba for kids and the marching band for kids.
Things to do together
March. Play any Sousa march and march around the house. Step on every beat, left foot first.
Find the piccolo. In “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” raise a hand when the high, twirling tune begins near the end. Read the flute for kids to learn about the piccolo.
Loud or soft? Listen for the trio, the softer tune in the middle of a march. Tiptoe during the trio and stamp when the band plays it loud at the end.
Conduct. A march has two beats in a bar. Move one hand down for “one” and up for “two.”
Band or orchestra? Sousa’s band had no rows of violins. Read band vs orchestra to find out what it had in their place.
Print and play
Fill in a composer study notebook page for John Philip Sousa. Read about more composers in American composers for kids. For the instruments in his band, read brass instruments for kids and percussion instruments for kids.
For his most famous march, read The Stars and Stripes Forever for kids. For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.
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This article is part of Classical composers for kids: a guide by era, from Vivaldi to Britten.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.